On this episode of Our American Stories, long before the familiar kettles and bell ringers appeared outside stores around Christmastime, The Salvation Army began as a small ministry founded by William and Catherine Booth, two people determined to reach those who had nowhere else to turn. With help from Vision Video and their documentary Our People: The Story of William and Catherine Booth, we look back at the movement’s earliest days and how the Booths shaped The Salvation Army into a global force for relief and spiritual care.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, viewers knew Boss Hogg as the blustering figure in The Dukes of Hazzard, yet the man behind that role, Sorrell Booke, carried a life shaped by intellect, training, and service. Nick Ragone revisits the actor’s work and reveals how much more existed beneath the familiar white suit, the quick temper, and the laughter that filled Hazzard County.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when you dial 911 in a medical emergency, you are using a system that did not always exist. Identical twins Alfred and Blair Sadler, one a physician and one a lawyer, worked with emergency medical services pioneers to shape modern EMTs, paramedics, and early 911 call centers, so that trained responders could reach people faster and save more lives. Here’s Alfred and Blair Sadler with their story.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, more than three hundred sets of brothers have played Major League Baseball, yet few have left a mark like the DiMaggio brothers. In this segment, author Tom Clavin tells the family story behind Joe DiMaggio, his older brother Vince, and his younger brother Dom DiMaggio, tracing their journey from a fisherman’s household in San Francisco to All-Star outfields in New York and Boston. Along the way, we hear how Joltin Joe built the legendary Joe DiMaggio hit streak, why Dom DiMaggio became a beloved Boston star in his own right, and how the quiet rivalry between the brothers helped shape one of the most famous careers in baseball history.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Henry G. Plitt returned from WWII as a hero to many Americans, and his story carried special meaning for Jewish American soldiers in WWII who understood exactly what he had been fighting against. He was among the first men to land in Holland during Operation Market Garden and had already jumped into Normandy as a parachuting pathfinder. His wartime record became even more significant when he captured Julius Streicher, the founder of Der Stürmer, whose propaganda had fueled anti-Jewish hatred long before the war began.

Here, the late Major Henry G. Plitt reflects on his service. We thank the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection for preserving and sharing this audio.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, before he became Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, James Best lived a life filled with hardship, discipline, and creativity. Orphaned at three, shaped by his service with the Military Police in wartime Germany, and later admired for his work as the gentle lawman with Flash, the show’s basset hound, he carried a depth that never reached the screen. He appeared years earlier on The Andy Griffith Show as Jim Lindsey, yet it was his later work guiding young actors in Hollywood that revealed the heart of a man who understood struggle, humor, and the art of performance.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, when Lorna Jean sat down for her first Christmas dinner without her father, she tried to hold on to every tradition her family had built over the years. Only when she set turnips in front of her mother did an unexpected confession rise to the surface, revealing a tender truth about love, marriage, and the quiet ways families carry their stories.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy explores the history of the Christmas tree, tracing how an evergreen that once carried ancient winter meaning became a central symbol in American Christmas traditions. He follows its path from early European customs to the first Christmas tree celebrations in the United States, and explains why the tree still feels essential to the season.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, "Wild Bill" Donovan was one of America’s most exciting and secretive generals—the man President Franklin Roosevelt made his top spy in World War II. “Wild” Bill was the director of the Office of Strategic Services (the country’s first national intelligence agency). He is known as the founding father of both the CIA and the military's Special Operations Forces, along with being credited as the father of psychological and cyber warfare. Here to tell the story is Douglas Waller. He is the author of the bestseller, Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Muniz remembers a night in the mountains of northern New Mexico when a long delay, an old station, and a clearing sky created a moment he didn’t expect. As he stood beside his father, he watched a small, steady light cross the darkness, and that quiet evening became the first time he understood how big the world above him really was.

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